West Hempstead School District technology questionnaire
These are the replies from some districts to the Newsday questionnaire regarding the use of new technologies in their classrooms.
Some of the answers are elaborate, and have not been edited or reduced. Some districts did not answer the questions directly.
1. Please list any major technological innovations introduced in the classroom in the past three years. Please give the name and list the use for each item.
* Over the past three years, we have installed more than 50 interactive whiteboards in classrooms throughout the district. The kindergarten center has interactive whiteboard capability in every classroom. Each of the other four buildings has at least 15 whiteboards. We have been able to upgrade the classroom environments at a faster pace than anticipated once we discovered an Epson projector that operates with a pen containing an infrared camera; this projector transforms any surface into an interactive environment and costs less than half the price of an actual whiteboard. This initiative has been totally funded through grant money. The goal is to have an interactive whiteboard environment in every classroom. With this technology we find that instruction is enhanced with more students are actively engaged and on task. In the kindergarten center, the interactive whiteboards are used throughout the day for calendar activities, weather, numeracy, and literacy. Staff development has been offered to teachers from kindergarten through twelfth grade. When a class is posted in our district catalog, it fills in less than 48 hours.
* We have also installed videoconferencing equipment in each school. This technology enables students to connect with students and experts in a range of fields and locations throughout the world.
* Laptop and netbook carts are available for classroom use in each school.
* The kindergarten center has ipads and itouches which support small group, differentiated learning.
* The libraries in each school have itouches available for loan to the classrooms.
* Each school has nanos, which are used to support at-home reading and literacy development.
* Technology is a major focus of professional development throughout the district.
2. Please tell us about any major innovations you are planning to introduce within the next year.
* Netbook carts with wireless access to conduct research, enhance learning, and improve writing skills. These carts are available for use in all academic content areas in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
* Itouches will be used as part of small group instruction/center time, ESL classes and reading programs to improve literacy instruction, writing skills and oral communication.
* Nanos will be used to build a bridge between home and school. ESL and reading teachers will be recording books on the nanos and sending them home with the text for use by students and families.
* Ipads have been introduced in the kindergarten center. Students have started to blog on the ipads. They are learning how to save their work and post it to the district’s new website. The ipads will also be used in learning centers in the kindergarten classrooms to enhance instruction based on themes or units.
* Each school has a document camera and flip cameras available for staff and student use. The document cameras have already enhanced science instruction by allowing demonstrations to be projected on a large screen for all to see clearly. These cameras also make the lens of a microscope available to the entire class for the purpose of demonstration and explanation.
* We find that technology enhances learning for all students and in particular for the students with special needs.
3. Are teachers or students using cell phones in the district for instructional purposes?
* Teachers are not using cell phones for instructional purposed at this point.
